New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu endorsed Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Tuesday, six weeks before the state’s pivotal first-in-the-nation primary. Sununu appeared with Haley during a campaign town hall at a ski area in Manchester.
Quick Read
- Sununu’s Endorsement of Haley: New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu endorsed Nikki Haley for the Republican presidential nomination, emphasizing New Hampshire’s role in leading the country forward.
- Public Appearance in Manchester: Sununu made his endorsement public during a campaign town hall with Haley at a ski area in Manchester, New Hampshire.
- Message to Donald Trump: Sununu thanked former President Trump for his service but indicated a move forward, signaling a departure from Trump’s leadership in the Republican Party.
- Haley’s Position in Polls: In a recent New Hampshire poll, Haley was placed second behind Trump, but ahead of other Republican candidates like Ron DeSantis and Chris Christie.
- Impact of Sununu’s Endorsement: Sununu’s popularity in the state could influence the race, although he has faced resistance from more conservative factions within the New Hampshire Republican Party.
- Comparative Endorsements: The endorsement comes after Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds endorsed DeSantis, and Trump received backing from South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster.
- Haley’s Campaign Efforts in New Hampshire: Haley has been actively campaigning in New Hampshire and has recently launched a significant advertising campaign in the state.
- Trump’s Standing in Early Polls: Despite Trump’s lead in early polls in New Hampshire, there is speculation about his position not being as strong as his national standing.
- Sununu’s Views on Trump: Sununu, known for his criticism of Trump, has previously stated that Trump does not represent the future of the Republican Party.
- Sununu’s Role in the Primary: Sununu has expressed his intention to assist his endorsed candidate in building a strong ground game in New Hampshire.
- Support from Americans for Prosperity: Haley’s campaign has also received formal endorsement from Americans for Prosperity, promising significant resources and activist support.
The Associated Press has the story:
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu endorses Nikki Haley ahead of State’s pivotal primary
Newslooks- MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP)
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu endorsed Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Tuesday, six weeks before the state’s pivotal first-in-the-nation primary.
Sununu appeared with Haley during a campaign town hall at a ski area in Manchester.
“This is an opportunity for New Hampshire to lead this country, for New Hampshire to say we’re not looking in the rearview mirror anymore,” Sununu said.
His message for Donald Trump: “Thank you for your service, Mr. President, we’re moving on. This is New Hampshire, and we go forward.”
Joining Sununu, Haley called it “about as rock solid as an endorsement as we could hope for.”
“It’s a great night in New Hampshire, I mean it doesn’t get any better than this,” she said.
The endorsement, first reported by WMUR-TV, comes as Haley angles to whittle away at Donald Trump’s wide lead for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination. A New Hampshire poll conducted in November by CNN and the University of New Hampshire found that Haley was in second place, well behind Trump, but slightly ahead of fellow candidates, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
It’s unclear how Sununu’s endorsement will affect the race. While he remains popular in the state, Sununu has faced pushback from more conservative and libertarian-leaning factions within the New Hampshire Republican Party. Candidates he endorsed in last year’s U.S. Senate race and a congressional race lost their primaries to candidates more closely aligned with Trump. The nominees then lost to Democrats in the general election.
Sununu’s backing of Haley comes a month after Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds endorsed DeSantis for president ahead of that state’s first-in-the-nation caucuses, saying he was best poised for victory in the general election. Trump, meanwhile, has been endorsed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, who heads the fourth state on the GOP voting calendar.
Haley on Tuesday kicked off a three-day campaign swing through New Hampshire, where she has campaigned steadily since launching her bid in February. Last week, she went up with the first ads of a $10 million television, radio and digital buy across that state, as well as Iowa, spending designed to give the former United Nations ambassador an advantage over DeSantis at a critical moment in the GOP nomination fight.
The ads have called on Republicans “to leave behind the chaos and drama of the past” — a reference to her frequent critique of the “chaos” that follows Trump — as well as her pledge to shore up America’s military strength.
Trump, who has led the Republican field since launching his campaign a year ago, remains the heavy favorite in early polls of likely GOP voters in New Hampshire, although some polls suggest his position in those states is not quite as strong as his national standing.
Sununu, a frequent Trump critic, himself passed on entering the 2024 presidential race, arguing in June that Republican candidates with “no path to victory must have the courage to get out” of their party’s primary in order to stop Trump.
“Donald Trump does not represent the Republican Party. He might be our nominee, but he doesn’t represent the future. He’s yesterday’s news,” Sununu told The Associated Press over the summer.
At the time, a broad field of GOP candidates was angling for the party’s nomination, something Sununu argued only helped Trump’s effort. Since then, the size has dwindled, a consolidation that in part has helped boost Haley, coupled with momentum from her performance in the four candidate debates.
Trump won New Hampshire’s 2016 GOP presidential primary with just 35% of the vote. He went on to lose the state to his Democratic challenger in both the 2016 and 2020 elections.
Sununu has stumped with several 2024 hopefuls — including Haley, DeSantis and Christie — as they’ve campaigned in his state, saying he would ultimately endorse one of the three. Elected to four two-year terms as governor, Sununu told Fox News last month he would help his chosen candidate “put together a ground game. I think we know how to do it pretty well here.”
Part of that on-the-ground build-out is something another group backing Haley is expected to help do, too. In November, Americans for Prosperity — the political arm of the powerful Koch network — formally endorsed Haley’s campaign, promising to commit its nationwide coalition of activists and money to helping Haley defeat Trump.
